Visual training machine

ABSTRACT

A visual training machine including a base having a support member secured thereto, the support member having an upright portion with a laterally projecting arm extending horizontally therefrom. A pivot point aperture which is formed in the arm receives a fine line. An object to be identified and observed is connected to one end of the line extending downward from the pivot point and can be raised, lowered, swung back and forth, spiral motion and/or rotated. The other end of the line includes a looped portion thereof which can be connected to any one of various adjustment hooks or which can be held in the operator&#39;&#39;s hand. Positioned behind the machine can be placed a backdrop of complementing or contrasting configuration relative to the object. In addition a display board having a plurality of different objects, only one of which is identical to the suspended object can be utilized by the observer.

United States Patent Stone 5] Mar. 114, 1972 [54] VISUAL TRAININGMACHINE OTHER PUBLICATIONS [72] Inventor: Beverly I. Stone, 2525 GrandSummit The Book of Trix Models, Book 1,Anfoe Co.,England Rec'd.

Road, Torrance, Calif. 90505 Nov. 1932, Rotary Crane ofpage: 47. [22]Filed: Aug 4, 1969 1:11;" Apparatus Co. Catalog Rec d. Jan. 1917, pp.104, 123 [21] App1.No.: 847,074

Primary ExaminerHarland S. Skogquist 52 us. C1. ..35/s R, 35/73,46/32Tlwmpso [51] 1111. C1. 1 ..G09b 1/06 58 Field of Search ..35/s R, 19 R,22, 2s, 34, 60, [57] ABSTRACT 5/ 3; 8; 6/ 2; 3/ 3/ A visual trainingmachine including a base having a support member secured thereto, thesupport member having an upright portion with a laterally projecting armextending [56] References cued horizontally therefrom. A pivot pointaperture which is formed in the arm receives a fine line. An object tobe UNITED STATES PATENTS identified and observed is connected to one endof the line ex- 3,4l7,502 12/1968 tending downward from the pivot pointand can be raised, l 15,349 5/1871 lowered, swung back and forth, spiralmotion and/or rotated. 414,371 11/1889 The other end of the lineincludes a looped portion thereof 546,333 9/1895 which can be connectedto any one of various adjustment 702,910 6/1902 hooks or which can beheld in the operators hand. Positioned 1 #1 1, 1/1 924 behind themachine can be placed a backdrop of complement- 74, 47 4 ing orcontrasting configuration relative to the object. In addi- 2,592,0734/1952 tion a display board having a plurality of different objects,2,671,624 3/1954 only one of which is identical to the suspended objectcan be 3,014,307 12/ 1 961 utilized by the observer. 3,030,718 4/19623,478,446 1 1/ 1969 1 Claim, 4 Drawing Figures FOREIGN PATENTS ORAPPLlCATIONS 20 497,087 8/1919 France ..40/128 VISUAL TRAINING MACHINEBACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION This invention relates to visual trainingdevices of a type that can be used to correct visual problems.

Some persons have abnormal visual problems which can be correctedthrough therapy. Some of these problems include: visual track-problemswhere an individual is unable to identify or even follow a movingobject; field of view problems where a person cannot distinguish objectsperipheral to his field of view; visual motor coordination problemswhere the viewers hand is not coordinated with his visual senses; andthreedimensional figure ground problems where an individual is unable topick out designated objects from background or surrounding objects.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of this invention is to provide animproved visual training machine which can be utilized to correct ordiminish any of the above stated problems.

Other objects of this invention can be attained with a training devicein which unique objects can be effectively suspended in space in theviewers field of view by means of a fine line which is pivotallysuspended from a laterally projecting arm on an upright support member.Any one of a plurality of unique three-dimensional objects ortwo-dimensional objects including words, letters, numbers, or geometricshapes can be suspended in space and swung to or fro, rotated, and/orraised or lowered, all in the viewers field of view. The viewer then cancorrelate the suspended object with objects on a display board, only oneof which is identical to the suspended object, he can orally identifyit, or else he can draw it. In addition, a backdrop which can have asurface which is complementary of or contrasting relative to thesuspended object is operable to be placed behind the object in theviewers field of view. An advantage of this device is that by raisingand lowering the object the frequency of its periodic motion isincreased or decreased accordingly. Another advantage of the machine isthat acuity of peripheral vision can be developed by placing thesuspended object lateral of the viewers line of sight. Still anotheradvantage is that visual-motor coordination is developed by requiringthe viewer to grasp the object at a given signal or point. Yet anotheradvantage is that the operator has control of the object and can observethe viewer at all times while remaining out of direct line of sight ofthe viewer.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING Other features, objects and advantagesof this invention will become apparent upon reading the followingdetailed description and referring to the accompanying drawings wherein:

FIG. I is a perspective view illustrating the visual training machinewith a three-dimensional object suspended therefrom in front of abackdrop;

FIG. 2 is a perspective view illustrating a display board having aplurality of three-dimensional objects, mounted thereon only one ofwhich is identical to a suspended object;

FIG. 3 is a perspective view illustrating an embodiment of suspendabletwo-dimensional objects including words, letters, and numbers, which aresecured to one face of an adhesive member which in turn is fastened to aweight member; and

FIG. 4 is a view illustrating two-dimensional geometric objects that canbe adhesively fastened to the adhesive member of FIG. 3 in place of theillustrated two-dimensional objects.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Referring now to the drawingsin more detail, FIG. 1 illustrates a visual training machine 12including a base member 14 having a support member 16 secured thereto.As will be ex plained in more detail subsequently, the support member 16is operable to suspend an object 18 in a viewers field of view.Positioned behind the object 18 is a backdrop 20 so that the object 18is generally positioned between the viewer and the backdrop 20.

More specifically, the base member 14 is a substantially rectangularblock having sufficient thickness, weight, and flat ness of the bottomsurface thereof to provide stable support for the visual trainingmachine I2. Materials from which the base member 14 can be made includewood, plastic, or metal or any equivalent.

The support member 16 includes a laterally projecting support footdisposed at the lowermost end thereof and upright section 24 thatextends from the foot 22 to a laterally projecting arm 26 located at theuppermost end thereof. The support foot 22 is formed with a plurality ofapertures displaced longitudinally therealong which receive mechanicalfasteners 28. The mechanical fasteners 28 can be screws, bolts, rivets,nails, or the like. It should, of course, be understood that otherfastening means can be used.

The upright section 24 is disposed at substantially a right angle to thesupport foot 22 so that when the support foot 22 is secured to the topsurface of the base member I4, the upright section 24 extendssubstantially vertically therefrom. An angle brace 30 is connecteddiagonally between the support foot 22 and the upright section 24 towardthe intersecting corners thereof to provide rigid support of the uprightsection 24. The angle brace 30 is fastened to the support member I6 bymeans of mechanical fasteners 32 such as rivets which extend through aflange portion of the angle brace into the support foot 22 and theupright section 24.

Similarly an angle brace 34 is fastened diagonally between the uprightsection 24 and the arm 26 across the angled corner therebetween.Mechanical fasteners 36 :such as rivets are also utilized to fasten aflange portion of the angle brace 34 to the upright section 24 and thearm 26 at a distance from the comer.

The arm 26 which extends laterally from the upright section 24 in asubstantially horizontal direction has a line receiving aperture 38formed vertically therethrough toward the outermost end thereof. Thisaperture 38 operates as a pivot point or apex for all motion of thesupported object 18.

It should of course be understood that the support member could be madeout of other stock including for example channel stock or tubular stock.

Secured to the top surface of arm 26 toward the corner thereof is an eyebolt 40 that operates as a guide for a line 42. In addition, a pluralityof catches 44a through 44c are secured to the upright section 24 atlongitudinally spaced apart loca tions toward the lower end thereof.These catches, 44a through 440, can be screws, hooks, or the equivalentand are of sufficient size to receive a loop 46 disposed at one end ofline 42. As will be explained in more detail subsequently, the catches44a through 440, are utilized to set the amount of line 42 that extendsdownward from aperture 38 to the object 18 whereupon the frequency orperiod of oscillation of a swinging object can be controlled or variedby the: operator.

The line 42 is preferably of a small diameter relative to the object 18and is of a material which is not highly or overly visible. Materialsthat could be used are nylon, rayon, plastics, natural fibers, andinclude polyfilament and monofilament construction. The lowermost end ofline 42 depending downward from the aperture 38 has a hook 43 secured toit such as by tying or other fastening means.

The hook 48 is preferably a swivel hook having an upper eye member and alower eye member, each of which are rotatably mounted in a swivel block50 so that they can rotate axially relative to one another. The low-ereye member has an object hook 52 secured thereto. Of course a simplehook 48 could be used.

An object 18 is secured to the hook. 50 so that it extends downward fromthe aperture 38 by means of line 42. The object 18 can be any one of aplurality of unique objects such as those mounted on a display board 56illustrated in FIG. 2. Each of these objects has an eye bolt secured toone surface thereof so that they can be readily attached and detachedfrom the hook 50. Of course a swivel hook could be secured thereto andattached to the hook 48.

A display board 56 is a substantially rectangular member having a flatdisplay surface thereon. A plurality of hooks 58 are secured to thedisplay surface at spaced apart locations. The hooks 58 receive the eyemembers 54 of each individual unique object 18, some of which can beconfusingly similar, so that they can be conveniently displayed for theviewer. Preferably the background of the display surface on displayboard 56 contrasts with objects 18 so that they can be readilydistinguished.

The display board 56 has a support member 72 mounted on the back facethereof. This support member 72 includes an uppermost lateral section 70thereof that is fastened such as by glueing or by mechanical fastenersto the back face of the display board along a lateral area between thetop edge and lower edge of the display board. A hinge point is formed inthe support member substantially horizontally therealong so that thelowermost portion thereof can be pivotally folded away from the backface to operate as a support let 72 which holds the display board 56 inan upright position.

Referring back to FIG. 1, the backdrop 20 is mounted behind the basemember 14 of the visual training machine 12. The backdrop 20 issubstantially rectangular member having a generally planar or flatviewing surface thereon. This viewing surface can be textured or treatedby conventional graphic techniques to make its appearance anywhere fromcomplimentary of to contrasting with the suspended object 18 dependingupon the degree of challenge to be offered to the viewer. For example,the viewing surface visible to the viewer can be uniform in itsappearance or can have objects displayed thereon which has the samegeneral characteristics of the suspended objects 18 or include all orany of the objects of the display board 56.

One manner in which the backdrop 20 can be mounted is by means ofbrackets 62 secured to the base member 14. The brackets 62 include twoparallels spaced apart, vertically extending members 64 and 66 connectedtogether at their lower end by means of a web. The interspace or channelbetween these members 64 and 66 receives the backdrop 20 to mount andsecure it in a substantially vertical or upright position behind thesuspended object 18. It should, of course, be understood that othermeans not interferring with motions of the objects can be used forsupporting the backdrop 20 including self-supporting members on thebackdrop and channeled base members.

Another embodiment of object that can be suspended are thetwo-dimensional objects 80 illustrated in FIG. 3. These two-dimensionalobject displays include a flat weighted member 74 having a hook 76secured to the top most edge thereof. The hook 76 is preferably a swivelhook but can be a simpler hook if desired. The flat weighted member 74can be made of lead or some other material which will lend emphasis tothe periodic motion of the suspended object when displayed. Fastened toone face of the flat weighted backing member 74 is an adhesive member78. This adhesive member 78 can be a double faced adhesive member havingone face thereof secured to the face of the flat weighted backing member74 and the other face thereof exposed for receiving and adhering to atwo-dimensional unique object such as a letter, a number, of a word orany desired three-dimensional object in a viewable position.

Another type of two-dimensional object that can be secured to theadhesive face of the adhesive member 78 can include geometric shapeobjects 82a-82e of the type illustrated in FIG. 4. As will be explainedin more detail subsequently, the viewer is to identify and correlatethese geometric forms with an identical geometric form. It should beapparent that these two-dimensional objects can be readily attached anddetached from the adhesive member 78 so that a variety of differentobjects can be suspended from the visual training machine 12, therebyvarying the challenge to the viewer.

The objects used with this machine are either weighted at the sameweight in themselves or are attached to a weight of approximately thesame weight to allow for maximum motion and uniformity of motion.

In operation, the visual training machine 12 can be utilized to improvethe visual tracking capabilities of a viewer by developing the eyemuscle coordination. For example, a viewer is positioned so that hisline of sight is directed at the suspended object 18 whereupon he isrequired to identify the object either orally, by indicating theidentical object on the display board 54 of FIG. 2, or by drawing theobject or otherwise identifying it on paper. Depending upon the presentdegree of skill of the viewer, the object can be, if desired, moved in apendulum fashion, in a circular motion, vertically up and down, or in aspiral motion by the operator. To move the object up and down, theoperator would grasp the line 42 and periodically pull and release it.If desired, the operator can secure the loop 46 to any one of thecatches, 44a through 44c, whereupon the amount of line 42 dependingdownward from the aperture 48 is fixed. As a result, the period orfrequency of non-vertical motion of the object will increase as thelength of suspended line 42 decreases or will decrease as the length ofline 42 increases.

The visual training machine 12 can also be utilized to assist in thedeveloping of acuity of peripheral vision by placing the suspendedobject parallel to the line of sight of the viewer. The same method ofidentification of the objects set forth above would be used indeveloping acuity of peripheral vision. It should be noted that asperipheral vision improves, the angle at which the suspended object 18is positioned relative to the line of sight and the eye can be increaseduntil the widest possible field of vision is attained for thatparticular viewer.

The visual training machine 12 can also be utilized for developingvisual-motor coordination or for checking it. This is accomplished byputting objects in any desired motion and having the viewer grasp theobject at a predetermined point or on a given signal.

The machine can also be used to assist individuals who havethree-dimensional figure ground problems which is the inability to pickout designated objects from background or surrounding objects. Thus byusing the various backdrops 20, depending upon the individuals need, aviewer can be requested to identify a moving object or with a movingobject as a distraction to identify certain given objects on thebackdrop in much the same manner as described above. This machine hasthe advantage that it should be particularly helpful in a figure groundstimulus bound problem in that as an individual progresses, the degreeof difference or distinction between the suspended object 18 can bedecreased.

Advantages of the above described visual training machine are that theoperator has control over the time of exposure to the viewer, hascontrol over the background and has control over the type of motion.Furthermore, the distance of the object from the viewer and its anglecan be readily controlled and the relationship of the eye level of theviewer to the object can be readily controlled, thereby requiring fulluse of the eye muscles.

The visual training machine 12 has the advantage that the structureallows the operator to position himself out of the direct line orconcentrated sight of the viewer thereby removing as much unnecessarydistraction as possible while still allowing for free full variety ofobject motion or viewers position. For example, the operators view ofthe viewers eyes will not be significantly interferred with whether theviewer is observing the suspended object directly or peripherally.Furthermore, the operator can view head and eye motion of the viewerwhich is necessary for proper development of various eye functions.

While the salient features of the invention have been shown anddescribed with respect to several embodiments, it will be readilyapparent that numerous modifications may be made within the spirit andscope of the invention and it is, therefore, not desired to limit theinvention to the exact details shown except insofar as they may bedefined in the following claims.

I claim:

1. A visual therapy device comprising:

a base member;

a support member secured to said base member and including an uprightportion and an arm extending generally laterally therefrom, said armhaving a line receiving means located away from said upright portion andbeing operable to receive a line and operate as a fixed pivot pointtherefor and to operably enable vertical motion of the downwarddepending portion of the line;

a line disposed through said line receiving means having an objectfastener means attached toward the downward extending end thereof forsecuring an object thereto, said object fastener means including aswivel member whereby the inertia of said object enables it to remainsubstantially non-rotary during operation of the device;

line securing means attached to the upright portion of said visualthereapy device having at least one catch for securing said line, incooperation with said line receiving means, against vertical motion andto releasably enable controllable vertical motion and length of saidline;

object means having a fastener operable to be detachably secured to saidobject fastener means for placing said object in spacial positionstoward the end of said line for viewing thereof;

background member removably mounted at one side of said base member withsaid object means being operable to be positioned between saidbackground means and a viewer, the surface of said background memberpositioned toward said object means being operable to selectivelycontrol the amount of contrast between said object means and thebackground; and

display board means having a plurality of fastening means on one facethereof, said fastening means being operably to mount a plurality ofunique object means on said display board whereby a viewer can correlatean object means secured to said object fastener on the end of said linewith a corresponding substantially identical object means operablymounted on said display board means.

1. A visual therapy device comprising: a base member; a support membersecured to said base member and including an upright portion and an armextending generally laterally therefrom, said arm having a linereceiving means located away from said upright portion and beingoperable to receive a line and operate as a fixed pivot point thereforand to operably enable vertical motion of the downward depending portionof the line; a line disposed through said line receiving means having anobject fastener means attached toward the downward extending end thereoffor securing an object thereto, said object fastener means including aswivel member whereby the inertia of said object enables it to remainsubstantially non-rotary during operation of the device; line securingmeans attached to the upright portion of said visual thereapy devicehaving at least one catch for securing said line, in cooperation withsaid line receiving means, against vertical motion and to releasablyenable controllable vertical motion and length of said line; objectmeans having a fastener operable to be detachably secured to said objectfastener means for placing said object in spacial positions toward theend of said line for viewing thereof; background member removablymounted at one side of said base member with said object means beingoperable to be positioned between said background means and a viewer,the surface of said background member positioned toward said objectmeans being operable to selectively control the amount of Contrastbetween said object means and the background; and display board meanshaving a plurality of fastening means on one face thereof, saidfastening means being operable to mount a plurality of unique objectmeans on said display board whereby a viewer can correlate an objectmeans secured to said object fastener on the end of said line with acorresponding substantially identical object means operably mounted onsaid display board means.